Drug use in the pediatric outpatient department of Ningbo Women & Children's Hospital

Key words: 
• Department of Pediatrics /
• drug use /
• clinical rational use of drugs

Abstract: Objective To investigate the drug use in the pediatric outpatient department of Ningbo Women & Children's Hospital, summarize the existing problems and analyze the causes in order to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the drug use. Methods A total of 9 000 prescriptions were randomly sampled from January to December 2015 for the statistical analysis of the drug use, the amount of money spent on the drugs and the number of irrational prescriptions at the pediatric outpatient department in our hospital. Results Based on the amount of money spent, the four most commonly used drugs were Chinese traditional drugs, anti-infective, respiratory and digestive system drugs. A total of 122 electronic prescriptions were considered as irrational drug use (1.34%) which include improper administration method, wrong dosage or indications, computer input errors,etc. Conclusion Overall, the drug use is appropriate at the pediatric outpatient department in our hospital. The Chinese traditional drugs are the most commonly used medications. However, clinical doctors and pharmacists still need the comprehensive trainings to promote the rational drug use, which could reduce unnecessary disputes between patients and doctors.